September 28, 2019

The crowd laughed at the joke that Governor Abbott “hates trees because one fell on him.”

Reported at The Federalist, in “Texas Democrat Forced To Apologize For Saying Gov. Greg Abbott ‘Hates Trees Because One Fell On Him.’”

Governor Abbott was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 27 when he was out running on a windy day and a tree fell on him.

61 comments:

Narayanan said...

Did he ever Josh with Governor on trees?

I would accept that.

gspencer said...

A Deep Thought by Jack Handey,

To me, clowns aren’t funny.
In fact, they’re kind of scary
I’ve wondered where this started
and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus,
and a clown killed my dad

stever said...

Molly Ivins was unavailable for comment

Darrell said...

F'in Democrat scum.

BUMBLE BEE said...

He needs to be reminded of this "Humor" for a year or two. All who laughed... reminded every day.

Ken B said...

So the joke isn’t about trees, it’s about being paralyzed.

gilbar said...

My cousin lives in Austin, i have to keep reminding him that Travis County is NOT part of Texas
When i do, he grudgingly admits what i say is true.

Limited blogger said...

How did Governor Abbott feel about the 'joke'?

His reaction is all that matters.

Michael K said...

Didn't Biden comment on Abbott not standing for the National Anthem? Sounds like Joe.

Wince said...

Trees have six ways from Sunday to get back at you.

campy said...

Democrats: always elevating the national tone.

cubanbob said...

Abbot is crippled because a tree fell on him. Eckhardt is stupid because her mother dropped her on her head. Given a choice, intelligent people would prefer to be governed by a competent crippled rather than by an able bodied arrogant and smug idiot.

Mattman26 said...

“Governor Abbott was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 27 when, out running on a windy day, a tree fell on him.”

I didn’t know trees could run!

William said...

I like a good joke about the disabled as much as the next guy. Jack Benny used to do a funny skit about Eleanor Roosevelt using FDR's lack of mobility in order to initiate sex with him. It was really clever, especially the way Rochester imitated Eleanor, but this joke simply wasn't that funny.

rcocean said...

So, they're laughing at a crippled man? Wow. that's harsh. I'm sure the D's have made some pretend "apology" to hide their hate.

The Vault Dweller said...

My initial reaction is that this just minorly offensive, and shouldn't be a big deal. However, were the roles reversed and a Republican made a comment like that about a Democrat it would be a 3 day national news story full of wailing, gnashing of teeth, and crocodile tears. So what's good for the goose is good for the gander and all that.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Is it still a joke if it’s true?

Achilles said...

Democrats are just terrible violent people.

Ken B said...

I do not agree with limited blogger. I think the crowd reaction matters. I am not concerned with how hurt or offended Abbott is but what I should think of his opponents.
Likewise I don’t worry if that little girl wants publicity. I think more of Althouse for her concerns.

Narayanan said...

Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt.

!Judicial Temperament !

daskol said...

That is incredibly rude and insensitive, however it is not without wit for a tree-hugger.

gilbar said...

And, Here's Another Texas Democrat, making a joke that falls flat:
O’Rourke calls on Trump to resign over Ukraine controversy, says it would ‘bring the country together’

Just think of it!
If ALL the people in the world; would Just agree with the Progressive Democrat position....
Then, there wouldn't be any disagreement, and Everything would be in Harmony : )

Barring that, maybe we, as a nation; could agree that skirt wearing, Adderall addicted, drunk driving, police fleeing, Richie Rich Kids, that relied on their father's influence to keep them out of jail, and their wive's Billionaire Father's money to make their way through life...

Should be horsewhipped, and drowned in a sewage lagoon???

I mean, if Anything would bring our Nation together, wouldn't THAT be the thing?

MD Greene said...

Maybe it's something about leftist women in Texas. Molly Ivins called Ross Perot PEE-ROT, and to her Dubya was Shrub; she was better at snarky zingers than political insight. Ann Richards was probably more serious, but she was more famous the "silver foot" and "thought he hit a triple" remarks about HW.

The judge is unable to see people who disagree with her as deserving simple human respect. Instead of commenting about Abbott's politics or policies, she goes after him for needing a wheelchair. That her audience laughed at her feeble (haha) joke is also revealing.


Tom T. said...

SNL laughed at Dan Crenshaw for having lost an eye. Politics is hardball, but imagine if this sort of thing happened with the parties reversed.

Quaestor said...

Sarah Eckhardt sez: I have personally reached out to the Governor to apologize because my comment was inappropriate and wrong.

What unmitigated sewage... the chick is a fucking judge! (obviously, an unqualified diversity hire because whim-in feelz) You'd expect a sense of humor befitting an intelligent adult, not the insipid banality typified by her remark. According to John Daniel Davidson (a distant cousin to John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt) the "crowd laughed". What crowd? A troop of baboons? You'd have to a lower primate or a Democratic judge to laugh at that oafishness

donald said...

She is very unattractive.

Phil 314 said...

So the joke back in '96 " Everyone voting for Dole, raise your right hand" isn't ok?

Phil 314 said...

Joke worked in 08 too.

Big Mike said...

@Althouse, I ask this in all due sincerity. Is there a point where you liberals stop being hate-filled twits?

Yancey Ward said...

Perhaps Rolling Stone can publish a story on how paraplegism has become of a symbol of climate denialism.

Sebastian said...

And Althouse is still cruelly neutral? Like, the two sides in American politics are pretty much alike?

rhhardin said...

The joke was mean but not clever, so it failed to be funny.

Could recover by adding bathroom humor or a cute animal.

Gk1 said...

What a bone headed thing for a judge to say at an open forum. Is she even a professional? What's wrong with these people?It not even remotely funny, just plain mean.

chuck said...

It's a joke, but kinda mean. It's also funny to make the joker grovel before their own supposed values. All good fun.

Maillard Reactionary said...

I just saw a picture of her on Fox.

Gross dyke. Par for the course.

Bob Smith said...

Smug SOB, huh.

Leland said...

The corollary is that Eckhardt loves trees because one fell on the governor.

JAORE said...

Vault Dweller at 3:30 captures my reaction perfectly.

John Cunningham said...

It's doubtless a good thing that rightists are not Nazis. Otherwise, plans would be afoot to turn every DemonRAT into a puff of smoke going up a chimney or a lampshade.

Fernandinande said...

Governor Abbott “hates trees"

Trees hated him first, or at least one tree hated him, but I wouldn't want to generalize to trees in general because very few people are harmed by trees unless the person started it by climbing and cutting the tree.

Texas Democrat Forced To Apologize

Who, exactly, held a gun to "their" head?

Fernandinande said...

A photo showing Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt wearing a stupid 'cat ear' hat in the courtroom is drawing a lot of attention online.

Sprezzatura said...

Not worth a tag.

IOW shit hole quality:

IAO. [ For the slow/normal/not-way-above-av: In Althouses’s Opinion.]

This blog is cool!

IMHO.

h said...

Max Cleland was a Senator from Georgia who was a multiple amputee, because of war wounds. The Republican opponent (Chambliss) ran an ad "which has a voice-over warning that, "As Americans face terrorists and extremist dictators, Max Cleland runs television ads saying he has the courage to lead," then lists votes where the Democrat opposed President Bush before concluding that "the record proves Max Cleland is just misleading" — helped propel Chambliss to an unexpected victory."

This ad was widely and roundly criticized.

It is okay to make a genial funny remark about how an opponent lost use of his limbs; but it is wrong to criticize a disabled opponent because you disagree with his political positions. Is that clear?

Stephen Taylor said...

Some clarification. Each of the 254 counties in Texas is supervised by a commissioners court. Each precinct in each county has a commissioner, and they sit on a commissioners court. The county judge is the leader of the commissioners court, he votes along with the other commissioners but has no veto power. All counties have at least four commissioners and one county judge, although some counties have more commissioners (Harris County). The main power the court has is to set the budget for each county department.

Most county judges have broad judicial duties, such as presiding over misdemeanor criminal and small civil cases, probate matters and appeals from the Justice of the Peace Court, but they spend most of their time presiding over administrative issues.

There has been some low-key discussion within the Texas Lege recently about separating Austin/Travis County from the rest of the state and having it become an administrative district, such as Washington, D.C. That the discussion has even arisen is tribute enough to how poorly the conservative legislature and liberal Austin get along.

Governor Abbott is one of those who believes that revenge is a dish best served cold. He'll bide his time and wait for the proper moment to settle things with Judge Eckhardt. His punishment will not be obvious, and the knife won't have his fingerprints on it, but the score will be settled all the same. And, yes, she wore a pussy hat to a commissioners court meeting several years ago.

Lance said...

"Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt was railing against the Texas legislature, complaining about how the state is constantly thwarting municipal policy."

This doesn't sound impartial. Would hate to draw her as a judge in any dispute with the city or county.

alanc709 said...

They weren't making fun of Gov. Abbott, they were parodying Trump making fun of Gov. Abbott.

pacwest said...

"Politics is hardball, but imagine if this sort of thing happened with the parties reversed."

No need to use imagination. Just ask the Republican Senators who are out of a job due to lesser offenses.

LA_Bob said...

Oh, lord, it's not Althouse's fault this stupid woman made that cruel comment.

And as for "you liberals", I can't imagine Michael Kinsley or Hubert Humphrey saying anything like this. Or Ann Althouse.

RichardJohnson said...

Sarah Eckhardt comes from a political family. Her mother Nadine was a skilled political operative in her own right. Not quite in Ladybird Johnson's league- who was- but close. Nadine worked as an aide to LBJ and Mollie Ivins. Nadine's political skills helped out husband Bob Eckhardt's political career- he served 14 years in Congress. Nadine correctly predicted at the time of their divorce, as he no longer had his wife's political skills to back him up, Bob would be defeated within 4 years. Which is precisely what happened. Nadine wasn't being vain- she was being realistic. She got tired of being the political wife, and divorced.

Sarah's father,Bob Eckhardt, who served 14 years in Congress, also came from a political family.
Eckhardt was born in Austin, Texas on July 16, 1913. He was the grand-nephew of Democratic Congressman Rudolph Kleberg, nephew of Republican Congressman Harry Wurzbach, and a cousin of Richard Mifflin Kleberg, Sr., heir to the famous King Ranch in South Texas.

Not surprisingly, the lefty Austin Chronicle's obituary of Bob Eckhardt made no mention of his ties to the Klebergs and the King Ranch.

I suspect that Sarah has a big case of entitlement, and forgot that even if your friends think that a snarky remark about a Governor in a wheelchair is funny, there are many who do not consider it funny.

I am reminded of Obama's remark about "bitter clingers" to the fundraisers in San Francisco. Your friends listening to you may agree with you, but there are many outside your circle of friends who do not agree.

In my opinion, instead of going after Sarah, one should go after all the clowns who laughed at her remark.

RichardJohnson said...

Crazy Jane
Maybe it's something about leftist women in Texas. Molly Ivins called Ross Perot PEE-ROT, and to her Dubya was Shrub; she was better at snarky zingers than political insight. Ann Richards was probably more serious, but she was more famous the "silver foot" and "thought he hit a triple" remarks about HW.

Yes, there may be something about leftist women in Texas that turns many into snarkmeisters, but in addition, Sarah's mother Nadine worked with both Mollie Ivins and Ann Richards.Sarah Eckhardt came from a political family. Her father Bob was a Congressman for 14 years. Her mother Nadine was no slouch in the politics department.Remembering Nadine Eckhardt (1931-2018).
Snark comes naturally.
Though Eckhardt is oft-noted for her marriages to famous men — including Brammer and, later, Congressman Bob Eckhardt — she also worked as an assistant to Molly Ivins and LBJ, and campaigned for Ann Richards. Her daughter, Sarah Eckhardt, is the first female Travis County judge.

Howard said...

Blogger John Cunningham said... It's doubtless a good thing that rightists are not Nazis. Otherwise, plans would be afoot to turn every DemonRAT into a puff of smoke going up a chimney or a lampshade.

You people don't have the gumption to follow through with your convictions because you are self-neutered Nazi's.

Quaestor said...

Big Mike writes: I ask this in all due sincerity. Is there a point where you liberals stop being hate-filled twits?

Room temperature?

Marcus Bressler said...

So the crowd was comprised of many asshats, eh?

THEOLDMAN

Kathy Griffin would have gotten a laugh out of telling that one.

Quaestor said...

You people don't have the gumption to follow through with your convictions because you are self-neutered Nazi's.

Congrats, Howard, you've nailed it, at last. It's that horrible moral squint that prevents us from rising to your level of genocidal psychosis. You and the rest of your fellow True Believers are neither self-neutered nor self-restrained. Nothing prevents you from living out the logical consequences of wokeness except a mild cognitive defect which makes you permanently uncertain of the relation of the trigger to the muzzle, hence the anthropoidal preference for the blunt instrument.

Michael K said...

You people don't have the gumption to follow through with your convictions because you are self-neutered Nazi's.

Says the lefty who is going to confiscate those 300 million guns.

alanc709 said...

"Howard said...
Blogger John Cunningham said... It's doubtless a good thing that rightists are not Nazis. Otherwise, plans would be afoot to turn every DemonRAT into a puff of smoke going up a chimney or a lampshade.

You people don't have the gumption to follow through with your convictions because you are self-neutered Nazi's"

Nazis are left-wing, like you. We conservatives actually have beliefs, not targets.

Big Mike said...

Oh, lord, it's not Althouse's fault this stupid woman made that cruel comment.

@Bob, no, but it’s the fault of more moderate liberals that people laughed.

Matt Sablan said...

Man. I sure hope that all her colleagues and party members in other states and at the national level get asked how they feel about this insensitive comment, you know, like usually happens -- wait, what? Oh. She's a Democrat. It's a Local News Story then.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Quaestor @8:47 AM summarizes the situation well.

Gary Saul Morson (in "The New Criterion" which, by all appearances, Our Esteemed Hostess never reads, but probably should) writes of "Leninthink" in the current issue. https://newcriterion.com/issues/2019/10/leninthink

A brief snippet from His Infernal Majesty Himself:

"The kulak uprising in [your] 5 districts must be crushed without pity. . . . 1) Hang (and I mean hang so that the people can see) not less than 100 known kulaks, rich men, bloodsuckers. 2) Publish their names. 3) Take all their grain away from them. 4) Identify hostages . . . . Do this so that for hundreds of miles around the people can see, tremble, know and cry . . . . Yours, Lenin. P. S. Find tougher people."

My advice to my fellow kulaks is get armed, get trained, stockpile ammunition, and stay vigilant.

Separately, The Hildebeest (believed by some to actually be a Dalek, as opposed to a kulak) is expected to "appear" on the TV show called "The View" on Wednesday of this week.

narciso said...

No, auton perhaps zygon.

Thuglawlibrarian said...

She is not really a "judge" because in Travis County, Texas it sounds like in the office is similar to a county commissioner.

This is also the same person who wore the stupid "pussyhat" while she was holding hearings back in 2017.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/judge-wears-anti-trump-pussy-hat-to-court/

She sounds like a warm and wonderful human being.